KEVIN WOLF / Associated Press
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was impressed by the families' strength and commitment.
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Clinton updates hikers' families
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had an emotional meeting yesterday with the families of three American hikers detained in Iran since late July and renewed appeals to Iranian authorities to release them.Clinton met at the State Department with the families of Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, and said afterward that the U.S. government was doing everything it could to get the three released on humanitarian grounds.
"I was impressed by their strength and fortitude and commitment," Clinton said of the relatives. "As a mother, my heart went out to all of them."
Fattal, whose family lives in Elkins Park, along with Shourd and Bauer were arrested July 31 after straying over Iran's border while hiking in northern Iraq. They are held in a Tehran prison. - AP
Japan weighing base decision
TOKYO - Japan will speed up its review of a deal to move a major U.S. military base on the southern island of Okinawa, officials said yesterday, but no decision was expected in time for President Obama's visit to Tokyo next week.To smooth the way, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was in Tokyo yesterday to meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to discuss the leaders' agenda.
"We are making our best efforts to find the most appropriate solutions to the base-allocation issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura said.
Although the leaders are expected to discuss a broad range of issues, the base issue is likely to dominate during Obama's Nov. 12-13 visit.
- AP
Search delayed for jet wreckage
PARIS - Families of victims of crashed Rio-to-Paris Flight 447 said yesterday that a new search for wreckage had been delayed, and they accused French investigators of dragging their feet.The families met with France's transport minister, Dominique Bussereau, to ask about timing and financing for renewed search efforts for the Air France plane that crashed June 1 in the Atlantic. All 228 people aboard were killed.
Bussereau told families the third phase of the search was now scheduled to resume in the end of February. Investigators initially said the search could resume by the end of 2009, then said it would be January.
"Things are dragging on," said Robert Soulas, who lost a daughter in the accident. "The longer we wait, the less likely it is we will find anything."
- AP
Elsewhere:
Russian investigators arrested two suspects in the killings of a human-rights lawyer and a journalist who were shot in central Moscow in January. Investigators identified the suspects as a man and woman in their 20s but gave no details about their motives in the killings of lawyer Stanislav Markelov or journalist Anastasia Baburova.
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai ended his boycott of the unity cabinet, saying he would give southern African leaders a chance to resolve the problems of the coalition. He announced a boycott three weeks ago, accusing President Robert Mugabe of undermining the coalition.
